bottom of the hour now. welcome back, everyone, i'm randi kaye. victor blackwell is on assignment. nick valencia is keeping me company here in studio. nick? >> good morning, randi. holiday weather may make it tough for holiday travels as aaa says 93.3 million people are expected to journey more than 50 miles in the coming days. the system that brought a blizzard to iowa and more than a foot of snow in wisconsin is now expected to drop inches in

western pennsylvania and upstate new york today. plus, there's a blizzard warning for parts of west virginia and north central maryland. and heavy rains on the west coast may also cause travel delays especially in the san francisco area. just ten days left for congress and the white house to make a deal and avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. the first family arriving in hawaii for the christmas holiday there, you see president getting off the plane, but before he left, president obama urged republicans and democrats alike to get it done. >> in the next few days, i've asked leaders of congress to work toward a package that prevents a tax hike on middle class americans, protects unemployment insurance for 2 million americans, and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction. that's an achievable goal. that can get done in ten days. >> congress is also in recess until after christmas.

in his weekly address, house speaker john boehner accused the president and senate democrats of failing to offer a responsible solution. boehner's own proposal had to be pulled this week after he failed to get enough support from fellow republicans. and the national rifle association promised meaningful contributions to avoid another tragedy like the one in newtown, connecticut. friday, the gun rights group unveiled that plan. nra executive vice president wayne lapierre says the u.s. should put armed guards in all schools. the comments came one week after 20 children and seven adults excludeing the gunman were killed in one of the worst mass shootings in u.s. history. and what was a poorly guarded secret in washington, john kerry nominated to the next secretary of state. susan rice was believed to be the first choice, but she pulled her name out of the running after several members of congress attacked her responses

to the deadly attacks in benghazi. a former u.s. marine was imprisoned in mexico for four months has been reunited with his family. john hammer was released yesterday partly thanks to the work from u.s. senator bill nelson. hammer was imprisoned on a questionable charge after police found him with an antique shotgun. he says u.s. officials told him it was okay to cross the border with the gun shown here, but mexican officials accused him of violating their law. those are the headlines, randi, back to you. thanks, nick. as the year winds down, we wanted to take a look back at some of the top moments in 2012. today is a new day at augusta national. >> augusta national, perhaps the most prestigious gulf club in america had excluded women from the membership role since the opening in 1932. but that changed in august with

the highly showcased admission, a former secretary of state condoleezza rice and darla moore, a south carolina businesswoman. >> i haven't thought yet about where i'll play, but i have thought a lot about where i've been. >> when quarterback peyton manning and the indianapolis colts decided to part ways after 14 seasons, the coverage of where manning would land was intense. after broncos fans learned he would play in denver, they must have felt like they won the lottery which made the trade of tim tebow to the new york jets easier to accept. the emergence of golf's newest stars took center stage in 2012. bubba watson introduced himself by winning the masters, but it was a humble misdemeanor and viral videos that quickly endeared him to millions. meanwhile, a 23-year-old from northern ireland rory mcilroy

dominated, let the comparisons to tiger woods begin. ever since he appeared on the cover of "sports illustrated" as a 17-year-old, it wasn't a question of if, but when lebron james would achieve greatness. that came this year when he soared to his first championship with the miami heat, voted the nba's mvp and won olympic gold with team usa. 2012 also had its share of controversy. starting with the nfl's battle over money with its referees. the league tried to use replacements in college and high school, but after a game deciding call on national tv, the two sides came to an agreement two days later. the downfall of lance armstrong made headlines across the world, a hero to millions after surviving cancer and winning cycling's most prestigious event. that script changed when the u.s. anti-doping agency released a report that accused him.

he resigned from the cancer foundation. two words, jeremy lin. >> lin-sanity. >> lin-sanity. >> can you believe this is happening to you? >> no. >> at the start of the year, jeremy lin was a harvard grad trying to make it in the nba, but over the course of ten days in february, the asian-american became a global sensation as he led the new york knicks on a seven-game win streak and single handedly reinvigorated a franchise that had fallen on tough times. four hours away from the big opening ceremony. >> you can really feel the buzz in london. >> took center stage with barrier breaking performances. michael phelps who became the most decorated olympian of all time.

american gaby douglas, the first black woman to win the all around title. the first double amputee to compete in the olympics and the female athletes from saudi arabia who were allowed to compete in the olympics for the first time. the new orleans saints made news for all the wrong reasons after they were found guilty by the nfl of instituting a bounty program that allegedly rewarded players with cash payments for injuring opponents. head coach shawn peyton was suspended for the season. and although the suspensions against four current and former players were eventually vacated, the damage to the season was already done. >> jerry sandusky is charged with molesting eight boys. >> where were the authorities? >> this was not a case about football. >> but the biggest story of the year occurred at penn state which was consumed in a sex scandal. five months later, former assistant coach jerry sandusky

was found guilty of child sex abuse and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison. while the ncaa hit the football program with unprecedented penalties. psi's gangnam style has made internet history again. we'll tell you about this unprecedented milestone. plus, an olympic athlete confesses she was once a high-end vegas escort. what led her to this double life. you can also get verizon's share everything plan. unlimited talk, text and shareable data, on up to 10 devices. awesome, because we've got, like, ten kids. wow! we have three children. not if you count how much they talk and text. [ text alert ] they're always texting... ha! l-o...l. u r crazy! [ male announcer ] get the season's hottest smartphones, like the droid razr m by motorola. with verizon's share everything plan. and use your smartphone as a hotspot at no extra charge. from america's gift headquarters. walmart.

but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia.

advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. [ tylenol bottle ] me too! and nasal co [ tissue box ] he said nasal congestion. yeah...i heard him. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't.

gangnam style by the south korean rapper psi is now the first video in the history of the internet to surpass 1 billion views. yes, 1 billion. if you haven't seen it yet, well, here is what you've been missing. ♪ ♪ gangnam style

>> doesn't it just make you want to get off that couch if you're sitting on it this morning or maybe up from the breakfast table and just start going gangnam style. billboard says psi's video gets about 76 views per second. the second most watched video, justin bieber's "baby." a three-time u.s. olympian has admitted she was leading a double life as, all right, are you ready for it? a high-end escort. one of the strangest stories that we've seen all week. we're talking about power house mid distance runner suzy favor hamilton. the smoking gun is reporting she was charging $600 an hour as a call girl or $6,000 for an entire day. now, i want you to keep in mind here, she's married, she has a 7-year-old daughter, and she works at a real estate firm and she's a motivational speaker. does it get any more bizarre? nick valencia is here to talk with me about this.

she has an escort name, actually, she didn't use her professional name. >> no, she went by an alias. >> she didn't think she was going to get caught, randi, that's what surprises me. apparently she believed there was this unspoken code by what are called in that field hobbyists and providers. the hobbyists, of course, being the johns, the prostitutes being the providers. and she thought there was this unwritten code between them they wouldn't tell on her. low and behold, one of her customers went to the smoking gun and spilled the beans. >> i guess she started escorting last december for a vegas escort service and also had these dates in l.a. and chicago and houston. but she is saying it was a huge mistake, right? >> she is saying it was a huge mistake and took to twitter to apologize to some of her fans. i believe we have a statement there. she's saying i'm not a victim here and i knew what i was doing. i was drawn to escorting in large part because it provided many coping mechanisms for me when i was going through a very challenging time with my marriage and my life. the reasons for doing this made

sense to me at the time and were very much related to depression. apparently in her life there was a dark side, a lot of happy things, but dark side, as well. she said after the birth of her first child she went through post-partum depression. and back in 1999, her brother committed suicide -- >> maybe some attention she was looking for. >> could be. >> she also admitted falling on purpose in a home stretch of a race in 2000 in sidney? >> yeah, that has to do with sort of her psyche. she said she didn't want to disappoint her brother. he had just died. so as the 200 meters, runners started passing her, randi, and that's when she said she fell on purpose to avoid the embarrassment. but the sort of ironic part of this, she works with disney. she does a marathon running series with disney. so this escort company is based in las vegas, but she traveled

to chicago, los angeles, all the other cities in the united states. coinciding with her trips for disney. >> here's the thing. why if you're doing this, and you know who you are, you're an olympian, why would you tell the people that you're serving, your customers who you really are. because that's how this whole thing came out. >> she said she was conditioned to believe she was invincible like many olympic athletes are. she took questions from the smoking gun reporter. she named tiger woods saying tiger woods never thought he was going to get caught. i never thought i was going to get caught either. i did get caught in the end. >> i feel sorry for her kids. >> i do. and it seemed as though -- she has a 7-year-old daughter, she has -- for what it looks like a very normal life in madison, wisconsin. she's a real estate broker. she's got a very nice home, $600,000 home, married, and her husband knew about this all. he tried to convince her to not go through with it and not be an escort for a year now. >> but he knew about it.

>> he knew about it. >> wow, that's a nice note to leave on there. all right, nick. >> all right, randi. letters of support pouring into connecticut as people reach out to offer their prayers. we'll hear from one little girl who has a very special message to send. i need you. i feel so alone. but you're not alone. i knew you'd come. like i could stay away. you know i can't do this without you. you'll never have to. you're always there for me. shh! i'll get you a rental car. i could also use an umbrella. fall in love with progressive's claims service. trying to find a better job can likbe frustrating.gs,

so at university of phoenix we're working with a growing list of almost two thousand corporate partners - companies like microsoft, american red cross and adobe - to creatoptions for you. not only that, we're using what we learn from these partners to shape our curriculum, so that when you find the job you want you'll be a perfect fit. let's get to work. as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios

you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommended gaviscon®. only gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps block stomach acid from splashing up- relieving the pain quickly. try fast, long lasting gaviscon®.

a shooting rampage in newtown, connecticut, is reigniting the debate about gun control. a growing number of americans say something has to be done and done now. let's check in with cnn political editor paul steinhauser in washington for more on this. paul? political editor paul steinhauser with more. >> it seems the tragedy in newtown may be making an impact on public opinion in gun control in ways that other mass shootings have not. more people told us they were angry, shocked and fearful

following the sandy hook elementary school shootings than they did after a mass shooting in tucson, arizona, leaving some dead and others, including congresswoman gabby giffords, severely injured. some say that government and society can take action to prevent violence. that's up 15%. >> a discussion has re-emerged as to what we might do to not only deter mass shootings in the future but reduce epidemic of gun violence that plagues this country every single day. >> that was the president on wednesday as he announced a new effort to prevent such shootings. minds are changing, 43% say the elementary school shootings make them more likely to support gun control laws, 15-point increase from january 2011. and 52% say they now favor major restrictions on guns or making guns illegal, a five-point rise

since early august, following the colorado movie theater incident where 12 people were killed. the poll also indicates a big bipartisan divide and gender gap with most democrats and women in favor of gun restrictions and most republicans and men opposed. randi? >> paul steinhauser, thank you very much. we talked about putting armed guards in schools. ian tweeted the solution must be comprehensive. mental health check on purchasers, building security, armed guards, drills. and linda tweets proposal is ludicrous. his suggesting makes our schools the front line. we need gun control. thomas tweeted i think it's a great idea. the schools here have a uniformed cop at every school with no issues. dave says it's like dealing with teenage pregnancy by saying, they should just say no. and rita tweet this had,

laughable. uk and others are baffled by nra insistence guns are good. you've lost your tag land of the free. and tammie says i thought about this the other day. if you know i'm armed you are less likely to attack me. and willie it's crazy how does it look to our kids? guns in school is demoralizing and weak. people from across the globe, reaching out to those in newtown, offering prayers and support. cnn's lisa sylvester has a look. >> it's a perfect b. >> reporter: 4-year-old katelyn takes her time. she is writing a letter. >> dear parents, i know that you are upset. >> reporter: a letter to the parents of the children killed in the newtown shooting. she and her mother live in maryland. they have never been to newtown. in fact, they've never been to

the state of connecticut. but they wanted to show the town that they care. >> we're writing letters just to let them know that our hearts are with them, they're in our prayers. >> because i want to make them cheer up. >> right away, we started seeing mail volume coming in. it began with a few hundred. now it's thousands per day we're receiving. >> you want to start handling these packages? >> reporter: in the middle of all the sorrow, sadness and heartbreak, is something else. compassion. letters, cards and boxes pouring into newtown. >> i don't know if they feel like strangers. i think they feel very connected to the tragedy here. but they're coming as far away as cicely, england, australia and every corner of this country. so, they may not have personal knowledge of the families here, but they certainly share their pain. >> kayla knows only what her mother told her, that a bad guy hurt and killed children, but she offers this message.

>> dear parents, i know that you are upset, but your children are now fine in heaven. love kaelyn. >> with her letter she is sending two pictures, her vision of a rainbow. >> so sweet. we'll be right back. ñ?

many of you will drive around this weekend, checking out the christmas lights.

there is one guy in washington state that has done something that might make you drive by twice, just to get a better look. cnn's jeanne moos talked to him about it. >> reporter: maybe if this homeowner had measured better, his christmas tree wouldn't have burst through the roof. >> that's crazy, right? >> what's crazy is how crazy everyone is about this christmas tree stunt that doesn't really stump anyone for more than a few seconds. >> we bought a 14-foot tree and i cut the top, six feet of it off. >> then plunked it on to a plywood platform on the roof and artfully arranged shingles around it. it's funny, your house is proof that the price of trees have gone through the roof. patrick krueger has always been a huge fan of the movie "christmas vacation" in which the main character, clark griswold, is obsessed with the perfect tree. >> there it is. >> dad, that thing wouldn't fit in our yard. >> not going in our yard, russ. it's